Handset telephone



Nov. 5, 1940. A. c. REID 2,220,279

HANDSET TELEPHONE Filed Sept. 20. 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 5, 1940. A. c. REID HANDSE'I TELEPHONE Filed Sept. 20, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 j i Q'Zxandr Reid Nov. 5, 1940. A. c. REID 2,220,279

HANDSET TELEPHONE Filed Sept. 20, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Nov. 5, 1940. A} RED 2,220,279

HANDSET TELEPHONE Filed Sept. 20, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 five-712, 07" azexarzci ez C. .ZPezid Patented Nov. 5, 1940 UNITED STATES HANDSET TELEPHONE Alexander 0. Reid, Genoa, 111., assignor to Leich Electric 00., Genoa, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application September 20, 1937, Serial No. 164,752

3 Claims.

The present invention relates to telephones and more particularly to improvements in handset telephones and ringers to be used therewith whereby to provide a simplified and flexible telephone apparatus which is readily adapted to the many problems of mounting and support that are encountered in the installations of this type of apparatus.

My invention contemplates the provision of a handset telephone so constructed that the talking unit, the handset unit, and the ringing unit are complete in and of themselves, but are so arranged as to readily fit together to provide a complete self contained portable telephone.

The specific features of novelty and arrangement will appear more fully in the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings wherein a preferred form of the invention is shown. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings and description are illustrative only and are not to be taken as limiting the invention except in so far as it is limited by the claims.

In the drawings Fig. l is a View in perspective of the complete handset telephone;

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken centrally through the telephone;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2 with the handset broken away;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view looking up on the line 44 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a sectional View looking down on the line 55 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 6 is a view in perspective of the telephone showing the handset and talking unit combined, but with the ringing unit removed;

Fig. '7 is an end view of the device shown in Fig. 6 with the handset removed and with certain parts broken away to show the interior construction;

Fig. 8 is a sectional vew taken substantally on the line 8-8 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 9 is a wiring diagram illustrating the circuit connections for the talking and ringing circuits where the ringing is entirely over a metallic circuit; and

Fig. 10 'is a similar view showing the arrangement when the ringing circuit is through a condenser of the ringing unit to ground.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, for the sake of simplicity in description, we will refer to the several parts of the apparatus by the usual terms employed to identify them in this art as comprising a handset H3, a talking unit in a casing II, and a ringing unit l2. The handset comprises the usual transmitter l3 and receiver l4 connected by a hollow hand piece [5 in the usual fashion. The casing parts of the handset are preferably made by molding them of a suitable plastic compound such as the synthetic resin compound sold under the trade name of Bakelite.

The talking unit H comprises a casing having an open rectangular bottom end ll recessed around its periphery at it for a purpose which will presently appear. The casing H is gradually reduced in cross section upwardly from all four sides so as to provide a front side it which slopes upwardly and is provided with a large aperture 20 which may be utilized for mounting a dial or which may be closed by means of a metal number plate 2|. The flange 22 is provided around a portion of the periphery of the opening 2i and suitable screws 23 are used to clamp the metal plate 2| in place. The screws 23 screw into a complementary plate 24! that is fixed directly to the plate 2|. The back wall 25 of the casing l I is provided with an aperture 26 through which connecting leads may enter the interior of the casing.

The casing H is open at the top as indicated at 21. A combined cradle and hook switch unit 23 is seated upon and covers the open top of the casing H. The cradle and hook switch unit 28 is secured to the casing H by a pair of screws 29 and 39 that are threaded into a pair of lugs 3! and 32 formed on the inner wall of the easing H. A central pin 33 is mounted in the unit 28 and is normally pressed upwardly by a spring 34 seated in an aperture 35 thatis cut in the molded body of the unit 28. The pin 33 has an enlarged head against which the spring bears, and the spring is supported by a bearing plate 36 set in the body of the unit 28. The hook switch comprises two stationary contact members 3i and 38 and two spring contact members 39 and 40 cooperating therewith, the contact members being mounted upon a depending lug it of the unit 28. A U-shaped bracket t2 is fastened to the body of the unit 28 at the end opposite the lug ll. This bracket mounts an actuating lever 33 by means of a pin A l. The lever 33 has a pair of posts &5 and d6 thereon which posts are constructed of a suitable insulating material and are adapted to engage the spring contacts 39 and it and press them outwardly against the stationary contacts 3? and 38. The free end of the lever &3 hasv a portion 47 adapted to be engaged by the pin 33 and pressed downwardly to separate the spring contacts 39 and n from their stationary contacts 31 and 38.

Within the casing H aninduction coil 4.8 is mounted upon a laminated core 9. The entire coil and core are secured to a pair of bosses Eli and 5! formed on the inner wall of the casing I I. The particular mounting of the induction coil is accomplished by extending the core 4?: beyond the coil 48 at both ends. A pair of links 52 and 53 are secured to the core 49 by screws and are mounted on bosses 50 and 5| by screws. The induction coil unit has end plates 54 and 55 of insulating material at the opposite ends of the coil 48, and the wiring terminals for the coil M are brought out through the plates 54 and 55 as indicated at 56 and 51. On the back wall It of the casing H, a shoulder is provided at 58 (see Fig. 2) upon which a terminal strip 59 is mounted by means of suitable screws. The terminal strip 59 has a series of wiring terminals indicated by the numeral 60 by which the necessary connection may be made for the circuits of the telephone. Adjacent the front of the casing II and beneath the sloping portion l9 thereof, bosses SI and 62 are provided, and a condenser 53 is mounted between the bosses 6| and 62. Suitable brackets 64 and 55 are secured to the bosses 6i and 62 by means of screws. The casing H is also formed with ribs 66 and 61 against which the opposite ends of the condenser 63 are held by the brackets 86 and $5. The casing l I is provided with a pair of mounting lugs 68 and i353 which are arranged at the opposite ends of the casing H and are provided with screw threaded openings indicated at E5 and H in Fig. 3.

Thus the casing H and the parts mounted therein comprise a complete talking unit when assembled with the cradle and hook switch unit 28 and the handset l6. If only a talking unit is desired, a base plate 12 (see Fig. 7) having a suitable felt cover 73 may be mounted to close the bottom opening of the casing l l, as shown in Fig. 7, by means of suitable screws, one of which is indicated at it in Fig. '7. The complete talking unit formed in this fashion is illustrated in perspective in Fig. 6.

The casing I i is adapted to cooperate with the ringing unit l2 to provide a complete portable telephone. In this case, the talking unit is mounted upon the ringing unit as shown in Figs. 1 to i inclusive.

The ringing unit is made up by taking the base plate 12 with its felt covering 13 and an annular molded side wall 15 which seats within the base plate E2 in the same manner as the lower edge of the casing H seats therein. To connect the parts together, a pair of posts 16 and 1"! having screw threaded projections thereon are threaded into the openings 70 and H provided in the lugs 68 and 59. These posts 76 and H have screw threaded openings therein at their lower ends to receive a pair of screws l8 and '19 by which the base plate 72 can be clamped to the post and thus clamp the annular member 15 in the position shown in Fig. 3. At its opposite ends, the annular member 75 has a series of openings indicated at 86 and 3!. Similar openings are provided in the back wall of the member 15 at 82 and 83 (see Fig. 5).

The base plate 12 has mounted thereon a complete ringing unit which comprises bells 84 and 85 fastened to the base plate '12 by screws 86 and 87. An arm 88 is carried by a pivoted armature 89 that is pivoted on a frame 90. The frame 90 cooperates with a second frame 9| to support ringing coils 92 and 93 and a core piece 94. The frame 9! is secured to the base plate by screws 9m and 9| 1). The base plate also has mounted thereon a condenser 95 and a terminal block 96, the terminal block being mounted upon posts 91 which are fixed to the base plate in a suitable manner.

When it is desired to utilize the ringing unit separate from the talking unit, as for example mounting it upon a wall, the posts 16 and ll are inverted as shown in Fig. 8 so that their screw threaded ends thread into a pair of openings 98 and 99 which are provided in the base plate 12 and which are normally used for receiving thev screws 13 and. 19. A cover plate I00 is then mounted upon the posts 16 and TI by means of screws HH and H12.

The wiring diagram of the apparatus when connected for ringing on a metallic circuit is illustrated in Fig. 9. All of the connections are made through the terminal strip 59 so as to connect the transmitter l3, the receiver l4, and the ringing unit I 2 in circuit with the coil 48 and the condenser 63, the hook switch unit 28 being also connected through the terminals $0 on the terminal strip 59 as will be readily understood. The casing H carries all of the talking circuit con nections. The hook switch mechanism is all carried by the unit 28, and the ringing mechanism is all carried by the unit I2. When it is desired to utilize the condenser 95 in the ringing unit for connection in the ringing circuit so as to ring to ground, these circuit connections are as shown in Fig. 10.

From the above description, it is believed to be evident that I have provided a very compact and flexible structure by which the several parts of the telephone may be assembled to provide a complete portable telephone unit including the ringing unit and in which the talking unit of the telephone may be readily used separately from the ringing unit. The particular shape of the casing for the ringing unit, as shown herein, may be varied to adapt the telephone for mounting upon walls or any other suitable position within the scope of the present invention. Obviously, also the particular details of circuit are not important in the present combination.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A telephone set comprising in combination, a telephone comprising a casing open at top and bottom, a cradle closing the top of said casing, a hook switch mounted entirely on said cradle, a talking circuit mounted in the casing, and a ringing unit comprising a shallow open topped casing,

a ringer mounted therein, and means for seating and securing said first named casing upon the last named casing.

2. A handset telephone comprising a talking unit, an open bottomed casing therefor, a ringing unit, an open topped casing therefor, said casings having matching peripheral edges adapted to engage each other to complete an enclosure for the talking and ringing units, said first named casing having a top opening, and a combined handset support and hook switch unit closing said opening.

3. In a telephone set, a base plate, a ringer mounted thereon, and a separate annular side wall member surrounding said ringer and resting on said base plate, a closure, and means connecting the closure and base plate and adapted to clamp said member between the base plate and the closure whereby to secure it in place.

ALEXANDER C. REID. 

